SOFIA - Poster - Design and Development of the Florida Bay Salinity Database

By Michael Robblee¹, Gail Clement¹, DeWitt Smith², Lauren Bochicchio³ and Robert Halley^4

1USGS Florida Caribbean Science Center, ²Everglades National Park, ³Florida International University, ⁴USGS Center for Coastal Geology

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Introduction

Understanding the salinity dynamics of Florida Bay is central to its management and restoration. Salinity is an intermediate link in the cause and effect that connects upstream water-management activities to the structure and function of the downstream Florida Bay ecosystem. Long-term regional water-management practices are widely thought to have reduced the quantity of freshwater flow into the bay and shifted its distribution and timing, leading to the marinification of Florida Bay. The perception of ecological decline in Florida Bay, as evidenced by seagrass die-off, the onset of extensive turbidity/algal blooms and corresponding declines in dependent fisheries, is often linked, at least in part, to salinity stress and long-term changes in salinity within the bay. Prominent elements within the Florida Bay Restoration Program include: restoring freshwater inflows; enabling predictions of Florida Bay salinity based on upstream hydrology and water-management; and developing, as a possible restoration target, a model of the salinity regime in Florida Bay prior to water management. The success of these restoration efforts requires an understanding of salinity conditions in Florida Bay.

The salinity record for Florida Bay extends from early in this century but is scattered across a diverse literature and many unpublished sources. Salinity information takes the form of actual measurements of salinity as well as anecdotal information interpretable in terms of salinity. This database will consolidate available salinity observations and related information into a single source that will provide the basis for a synthesis of salinity conditions in Florida Bay as well as for a website from which researchers may acquire salinity data and synthesis for their own purposes.

Period-of-Record Salinity
Florida Bay
(click on images to view larger version)

Relational Database

This salinity database is being developed in Oracle 8i. It integrates salinity and temperature observations as well as related literature and anecdotal references into a relational database within which the data can be explored, data sets developed in space and time, and data files exported for further analysis. The current database schema allows searches for salinity and temperature data on study, study station, basin, and place name as well as user defined space using latitude and longitude or UTM coordinates. The primary data for each study is available in the database; however, a calculated data set of daily average salinity will form the basis for integrating data from different studies. To expedite data searches data summaries will be available on monthly, seasonal (wet/dry), and annual time steps.

Relational Database Schema
Click on images to view larger version

Integrating Diverse Data Sets

The experimental designs of studies contributing data to this database vary greatly but generally between two extremes: time series data from a single location (e.g. NPS hourly monitoring data) spatial data with many locations represented by a single value at each location (e.g. USGS boat survey data). Most studies produce data sets falling along a continuum between these extremes. When the data from these studies is integrated by averaging over an area and time period distortions can result because of variations in data density leading to inaccurate or misleading results. In order to minimize this effect three rules have been applied within this database when calculating monthly, seasonal and annual averages: 1) these calculations were based on daily average data; 2) daily average data were calculated as the average salinity/temperature for each station within each study on a given day, and 3) in spatial data sets salinity/temperature observations were averaged within each basin on a given day and assigned a station location of the geographic center of the respective basin.

Basin Grid

An organizing feature of this database is the underlying basin grid. Basins are loosely defined as hydro-dynamically homogeneous areas. This concept works best in Florida Bay but has been extended to cover the west coast river systems. Salinity observations have been assigned to basins providing a "scaling-up" which facilitates data searches. Places can vary greatly in spatial extent. Place names in the database have been defined in terms of a basin or basins. The user can aggregate basins in order to define ecologically or hydrologically useful areas.

Basin Names

1
Key Largo 42 Conchie Channel 82 North River 122 Chevelier Bay

2 Plantation 43 Nilemile Bank 83 Whitewater Bay 123 Chatham River

3 Upper Matecumbe 44 Dildo Key Bank 84 Oyster Bay 124 Storter Bay

4 Lower Matecumbe 45 Tavernier Creek 85 Big Sable Creek 125 Huston River

5 Barnes Sound 46 Buttemut Key Basin 86 Watson River 126 Last Huston Bay

6 Manatee Bay 47 Duck Key Basin 87 Shark River 127 Huston Bay

7 Long Sound 48 Manatee Keys Basin 88 Ponce de Leon Bay 128 Oyster Bay

8 Little Blackwater Sound 49 Little Card Sound 89 Little Shark River 129 House Hammock Bay

9 Blackwater Sound 50 Triangle Area 90 Shark Point 130 Sunday Bay

10 Tarpon Basin 51 C-111 Canal 91 Hamey River 131 Lumber Key

11 Little Buttonwood Sound 52 Highway Creek 92 Tarpon Bay 132 Lopez River

12 Nest Keys Basin 53 Snapper Creek 93 Rookery Branch 133 Turner River

13 Joe Bay 54 Upper Joe Bay 94 North Prong 134 Halfway Creek

14 Little Madeira Bay 55 Taylor River 95 Upper Broad River 135 Chokolaskee Bay

15 Black Betsy Key Basin 56 Madeira Hammock 96 Broad Creek 136 Barron River

16 Upper Cross Bank 57 Noble Hammock 97 Broad Bay 137 Ferguson River

17 Rock Harbor 58 Hells Bay 98 Broad River 138 West Pass Bay

18 Buttonwood Sound 59 Snake Bight Canal 99 Broad River Bay 139 Panther Key

19 Jimmie Key Basin 60 Seven Palm Lake 100 Indian Camp Creek 140 Ten Tousand Islands

20 Cotton Key Basin 61 Middle Lake 101 Cabbage Island 141 East River

21 Captain Key Basin 62 Monroe Lake 102 Rogers River 142 Fakahatchee River

22 Russell Key Basin 63 The Lungs 103 Key McLaughlin 143 Faka Union River

23 Crocodile Dragover 64 Alligator Creek 104 Rogers River Bay 144 Fakahatchee Bay

24 Madeira Bay 65 Henry Lake 105 Rocky Creek Bay 145 Faka Union Bay

25 Terrapin Bay 66 Long Lake 106 Big Lostmans Bay 146 Wood River

26 End Key Basin 67 Cuthbert Lake 107 Tom's Creek 147 Pumkin River

27 Calusa Keys Basin 68 West Lake 108 Lostmans Second Bay 148 Pumkin Bay

28 Spy Key Basin 69 Coot Bay 109 Lostmans First Bay 149 Dismal Key

29 Porpoise Lake 70 Mud Lake 110 Hog Key 150 Whitney River

30 Lignumvitae Basin 71 Buttonwood Canal 111 Onion Key Bay 151 Buttonwood Bay

31 Long Key Basin 72 Bear Lake 112 Cabbage Bay 152 Blackwater River

32 Twin Keys Basin 73 Fox Lakes 113 Mullet Bay 153 Palm Bay

33 Corrine Key Basin 74 Gator Lake 114 Two Island Bay 154 Tripod Key

34 Whipray Basin 75 Raulerson Prairie 115 Lostmans Five 155 Big Marco River

35 North Whipray Basin 76 Cape Sable 116 Plate Creek Bay 156 Ten Thousand Islands Offshore

36 Rankin Bight 77 Lake Ingraham 117 Dads Bay 157 Highland Beach Offshore

37 Rankin Lake 78 Middle Cape 118 Alligator Bay 158 Shark Point Offshore

38 Rabbit Key Basin 79 Joe River 119 Gofer Key Bay 159 Middle Keys

39 Johnson Key Basin 80 Lane River 120 Highland Beach 160 Sprigger Bank

40 Catfish Key Basin 81 Roberts River 121 Cannon Bay 161 Long Key Viaduct

41 Snake Bight

Inclusion Criteria for Salinity Observations in the Database

The observation was made within Florida Bay waters or in waters adjacent to the bay.
The measurement was a discrete observation (not an average value).
The date and time that the observation was made is known.
The location at which the observation had been made was known or could be estimated.
The depth at which the observation was made could be determined.

Search for Salinity Data

To complete the exiting salinity record for Florida Bay, a comprehensive search for salinity data was performed over the published an unpublished literature.

The result of this effort, at present, is a database containing 232 references, including 70 sources of salinity data extending from 1936 to the present. Spatially extensive data are available from the mid-1950's. Less quantitative or anecdotal references to salinity conditions date back to the turn-of-the-century in the scientific literature, and to the mid-19th Century in the historical record. A sampling of references relating to the Johnson Key Basin are shown below. Information about changing salinity conditions in Florida Bay is also being pursued through an exhaustive search of historical records in libraries, museums, agencies, private papers, and through oral histories. Dating to the mid-19th century, these less quantitative and anecdotal materials contain information interpretable in terms of salinity conditions within the bay. These sources include primarily anecdotal observations about salinity and related conditions (e.g., direct observations of freshwater occurrences, fish kills, and other phenomena reflecting changes in water quality).

One of the earliest of such records is the Hackley Diary, a copy of which was found in the Monroe Public Library in Key West.

Studies Providing Salinity Data From Johnson Key Basin
Bert, T. M., J. T. Tilmant, J. W. Dodrill and G. E. Davis 1986. Aspects of the population dynamics and biology of the stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) in Everglades and Biscayne National Parks as determined by trapping. Technical Report SFRC-86/04. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida. 77pp.

Bugden, J. 1991. Water quality observations made in Florida Bay, 1990 to 1991, as part of a M. S. Thesis on seagrass die-off. Florida International University.

Costello, T. J., D. M. Allen and J. H. Hudson 1986. Distribution, seasonal abundance, and ecology of juvenile northern pink shrimp, Penaeus duorarum, in Florida Bay area. NOAA Technical Memorandum. NMFS-SEFC-161, United States Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Miami, Florida, 84 pp.

Davies, T. D. 1980. Peat formation in Florida Bay and its significance in interpreting the recent vegetation and geological history of the bay area. Ph. D. Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. 338 pp.

Durako, M. J. 1990. Environmental data collected in association with seagrass die-off studies in Florida Bay under contract CA5280-9-8002 to Florida Marine Research Institute, Department of Natural Resources, St. Petersburg, Florida from the South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Fourqurean, J. W., R. D. Jones and J. C. Zieman 1993. Processes influencing water column nutrient characteristics and phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton biomass in Florida Bay, Florida, USA: inferences from the spatial distributions. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Sci., 36, 295-314.

Jones, R. D. 1995. Water quality observations in Florida and Manatee Bays and Barnes Sound, 1991 to 1995. Collected under MA5280-0-9015 between Florida International University, Miami, Florida and the South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Robblee, M. B. 1987. Salinity observations following Hurricane Floyd in October 1987. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Robblee, M. B. 1991. Salinity and temperature data collected at swim-over stations associated with sea-grass die-off monitoring, 1990 to 1991. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Robblee, M. B. 1992. Salinity and temperature data associated with benthic animal sampling of seagrass die-off impacted areas in Florida Bay, 1989 to 1991. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Robblee, M. B. 1997. Salinity and temperature data associated with benthic animal sampling of 30 stations within Johnson Key Basin from 1994-1997.

Robblee, M. B. 1999. Salinity and temperature data associated with benthic animal sampling of seagrass beds within Johnson Key Basin 1998-1999.

Robblee, M. B. and T. W. Schmidt 1987. Environmental data collected in association with collections of pink shrimp, caridean shrimp, and fishes in Florida Bay and Whitewater Bay, 1981 to 1987. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Rutherford, E S. 1983. Larval and juvenile gamefish study, February 1982 to December 1983. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Shaw, A. B. 1984. Salinity data collected in May 1966 and from January 1984 - June 1984 from across Florida Bay associated with studies of the distribution of mollusk shells (maps), Amoco Oil, Chicago, Illinois. Provided by Allan Shaw.

Smith, D. T. 1995. Surface refractometer measurements made at marine monitoring stations, 1981 to 1995. South Florida Research Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida.

Tabb, D. C. 1967. Prediction of estuarine salinities in Everglades National Park, Florida, by the use of ground water records. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Miami. Coral Gables, Florida. 107 pp.

Thayer, G. W., W. F. Jr. Hettler, A. J. Chester, D. R. Colby and P. T. McElhaney 1987. Distribution and abundance of fish communities among selected estuarine and marine habitats in Everglades National Park. Technical Report SFRC-87/02. South Florida Research center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida. 166 pp.

Zieman, J. C. and J. W. Fourqurean 1991. Water quality observations associated with seagrass die-off research, 1989 to 1990. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Notes from Hackley Diary – January 1857 – Key West, Florida

William R. Hackley moved to Key West in 1829 where he remained until 1857. He was a practicing attorney and kept a diary, of which only parts survived. The Key West Library has a copy of all surviving portions. It was transcribed by Robert L. Goulding, Hackley's maternal grandfather.

[larger version] Saturday, 3rd:
"The calm weather has lasted so long that the fresh water from the Everglades has drifted down to the Keys. The fisherman say that yesterday in the NW channel the water was fresh enough to drink and that they did drink full droughts of it. The water at the wharfs and in the harbor this morning has the greenish tinge peculiar to the water near the courts of the mainland the fish certain to die in great numbers and of all kinds—King fish, mullet, morays, trunk fish, grunts and line the beaches making a horrible stench and the water is covered with them dead & drifting out with the tide…"
Monday, 5th
"…the water shows the admixture with fresh and the men say that in streaks it is fresh enough to drink. The blue water was very perceptible in a streak in the channel yesterday…"

Source: Wilkinson, Jerry, "History Talk from the Upper Florida Keys" Fall 1997, <electronic version>, Tampa: University of South Florida, URL: http://www.lib.usf.edu/spccoll/guide/h/hpsuk/htfall97/ht14.html; last accessed Nov, 20, 2000. (Note: This URL can no longer be found. To find information, look to the special collections URL: http://www.lib.usf.edu/public/index.cfm?Pg=SpecialCollections.)

Acknowledgements:

This research is supported in significant part by the USGS Place Based Studies program, and in part by USGS' Florida Caribbean Science Center. We also wish to thank Maxim Chekmasov, Marina Chekmasova, Nancy DeWitt, Chris Dufore, Troy Mullins, Patty Mumford, Diane Riggs and Darrell Tidwell.

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Related information:

SOFIA Project: Salinity Patterns in Florida Bay: A Synthesis

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Last updated: 13 July, 2009 @ 11:35 AM (KP)